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England consumed roughly 2.5bn lines of cocaine in a year as crimes linked to the drug rise 10%

England consumed roughly 2.5bn lines of cocaine in a year as crimes linked to the drug rise 10%

Police logged at least 29,922 crimes mentioning cocaine in 2025, including assaults, domestic abuse and dangerous driving. That works out at 63.4 offences per 100,000 people, up from 57.7 in 2019. Nearly one in five of these cases was violent. Home Office sewage testing found use jumped 26% between 2021 and 2025, a habit with a £9.8bn street value.

Deaths linked to cocaine have hit record levels as long-term users grow older.

MoreThe GuardianAgeing users and record deaths – the data behind Britain’s £9.8bn-a-year cocaine habitThe GuardianCocaine-linked crimes on the rise in Britain as consumption surgesThe GuardianHow cocaine conquered the UK: in pubs, festivals and workplaces the drug has become an everyday habitDaily Mail NewsEx soldiers use military training to smuggle £34mn of cocaine into UK
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